Craig Harbour

RCMP depot under construction, Craig Harbour, 1926

Craig Harbour (76°12′25″N 81°00′00″W / 76.20694°N 81.00000°W / 76.20694; -81.00000 (Craig Harbour)[1]) is an abandoned settlement in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located on Ellesmere Island, on the north shore of Jones Sound, 55 km (34 mi) southeast of Grise Fiord.

In 1922, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment was established at Craig Harbour, named in honour of Dr. John D. Craig, expedition commander.[2] The site was selected as Smith Island protected the harbour from moving pack ice, and the nearby mouth of Jones Sound made the harbour's navigation accessible.[3] The outpost was closed in the 1930s, and re-opened in 1951 at the start of the Cold War.[4]

  1. ^ "Craig Harbour". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  2. ^ Grant, Shelagh (2005). Arctic Justice: On Trial for Murder, Pond Inlet, 1923. McGill-Queen's Native and Northern Series. McGill-Queen's Press. pp. 130, 137. ISBN 0-7735-2929-2.
  3. ^ Dick, Lyle (2001). Muskox land: Ellesmere Island in the age of contact. Volume 5 of Parks and heritage series. University of Calgary Press. p. 277. ISBN 1-55238-050-5.
  4. ^ McGrath, Melanie (2007). The long exile: a tale of Inuit betrayal and survival in the high Arctic. Vintage Series. Random House, Inc. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-4000-3288-4.